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Sharks win, but Hawks advance to semis

By FRANK PASTOR

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 24, 2001

TAMPA -- Armwood coach Joey Fernandez passed Durant assistant Rick Tosca in the parking lot following the Hawks' 3-2 loss to Riverview on Friday.

"Remember who loves you," Fernandez said.

In an unexpected turn of events, Armwood became Durant's biggest supporter less than 24 hours after defeating the Cougars.

Not necessarily by choice.

Because the loss to the Sharks prevented Armwood from winning the East Division outright, the Hawks needed Durant's help to advance to the semifinals by forcing a three-way tie for first place.

The Cougars did their part by defeating Blake 16-4 in five innings, allowing Armwood to advance because it allowed fewer runs (five) during pool play than Durant (13) and Riverview (14).

Armwood (12-2) will play Wharton in a semifinal at 2:30 p.m. today at Jefferson.

Riverview (10-5) threatened Armwood's trip to the semifinals by beating the Hawks at their own game. Solid pitching by Eric Beattie kept the Sharks close, and Aaron McClain's timely hitting made the difference.

Beattie pitched a four-hitter, and McClain drove in all three runs as Riverview avenged a heartbreaking loss on a ninth-inning home run earlier this season.

"When we lost, my heart went right into my shoes because the ball went over my head in leftfield," McClain said. "Today, my heart fell into my shoes again because we won."

After McClain lined a two-run single into left-centerfield to give Riverview a 2-0 lead in the third, Armwood tied it on RBI singles by Matt Joyce and Michael Hubbard in the fourth.

That set the stage for McClain, who delivered a game-winning hit for the second time in three days.

McClain, whose grand slam in the seventh gave Riverview a 7-6 win over East Bay on Tuesday, singled sharply to right to score Roberto Martinez in the fifth.

McClain said weekly sessions at an indoor batting facility helped him overcome early-season problems hitting off-speed pitches.

Some Armwood players work out there, too. But it was of little help against Beattie, who pitched no-hit ball for three innings.

By keeping his two-seam fastball out of the zone and mixing in an effective curve, the senior right-hander struck out eight and did not allow a walk.

"I didn't really feel threatened at all because I knew our bats would stay hot," Beattie said. Besides wins over Armwood and East Bay, Riverview beat Blake 9-5. Only a 1-0 loss to Durant kept it from finishing undefeated. But coach Jamie Corr said the Sharks accomplished their goal, despite missing out on the semis.

"The way I look at it, we came here to win the East pool, and we did it," he said. "We accomplished our goal."

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